‘The Summit of the Gods’ Review

summit (n) – the highest point of a hill or mountain (v) – to reach the summit of (a hill or mountain) What does it take to reach the top? What does it take to be the best? What part of you drives you to attempt what many think is impossible? What cost are you willing to pay? Is it worth it? The Summit of the Gods (originally Le Sommet des Dieux) is the animated adaptation of the graphic novel of the same name by Jiro Taniguchi (itself, based on a 1998 novel by Baku Yumemakura) that details the intertwined stories of Makoto Fukamachi and Habu Joji as they attempt to answer the above questions and also the entire history of climbing as a whole.

The movie opens up with a short introduction to George Mallory and Andrew Irvine, who were actual climbers who attempted to summit Mt. Everest in 1924 but mysteriously vanished. As the film goes on to explain, the first documented ascent didn’t happen until 1953; however, rumors in the climbing community say that Mallory’s lost camera could contain proof that Mallory was indeed the first to achieve the ascent. And while the camera kicks off the story as Makoto Fukamachi is offered a chance to purchase the supposed legendary item only to see it reacquired by its owner, the reclusive climber Habu Joji who then fades into a back alley. And thus starts the two tales proper. One of the investigative journalist has a passive interest in climbing that becomes an outright obsession, and the other is an ambitious climber whose entire life has…